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JSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon BrownAlphabet is way Cheap | Nasty US economic data  🎙 Episode Summary: This week, Simon unpacks Alphabet’s surprisingly cheap valuation, troubling US economic data, South African CPI figures, Trump’s trade mess, and the implications of Aspen’s customer fallout. Plus, he previews the Berkshire AGM and upcoming JustOneLap events. 📉 US Economic Data Shock Q1 GDP: Expected +0.2%, came in at –0.3% 😬 Imports surged 40%, skewing GDP down Retail inventories and trade balance signal deeper issues PCI inflation at 1.8% vs. 1.2% expected Recession fears intensify US GDP Q1 2025 🇺🇸 Trump’s 100-Day Trade Tangle Trump promised 90 trade...2025-04-3021 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownAlphabet is way Cheap | Nasty US economic data  🎙 Episode Summary: This week, Simon unpacks Alphabet’s surprisingly cheap valuation, troubling US economic data, South African CPI figures, Trump’s trade mess, and the implications of Aspen’s customer fallout. Plus, he previews the Berkshire AGM and upcoming JustOneLap events. 📉 US Economic Data Shock Q1 GDP: Expected +0.2%, came in at –0.3% 😬 Imports surged 40%, skewing GDP down Retail inventories and trade balance signal deeper issues PCI inflation at 1.8% vs. 1.2% expected Recession fears intensify US GDP Q1 2025 🇺🇸 Trump’s 100-Day Trade Tangle Trump promised 90 trade...2025-04-3021 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapHow to correct an investing mistake (#218)Often the fear of making a mistake keeps us from starting our investment journey. It feels like everything is on the line when we make our first investment, but missteps can be corrected fairly easily. Even the mistake of waiting too long and starting too late can be corrected. This week we think through some of the mistakes new investors fear most and how they can be corrected. Hopefully this episode will give you the courage you need to take the plunge. Subscribe to our RSS feed here. Subscribe or rate us in iTunes. Win of the w...2020-09-211h 02The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapUnderstanding endowment policies (#217)I’ve been avoiding talking about endowment policies, because what even are they? I haven’t come across one in my own investment life. This week, a question from Sandile sent me down the endowment road. I had fun with it. I got the Tax Elves involved. They had fun with it. Fun was had by all. Endowments are the love child of insurance and investments. They have a five-year lock-in period, a tax rate of 30%, a life assured and a beneficiary. If you are in a higher tax bracket and looking for a long-term investment vehicle, endo...2020-09-141h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapHow to make up for lost time (#216)Most of us kick our 20-year-old selves for spending all our money making poor decisions in Melville instead of taking full advantage of compounding. The financial independence, retire early (FIRE) movement has given us valuable tools to reach our financial goals despite those late nights in Melville. I discussed that with FIRE-man Patrick McKay here. Since regret over lost investment time is something so many investors grapple with, we wondered whether we could quantify exactly how much we missed out on in order to make it up. It’s a simple question, but the solution is hella co...2020-09-071h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapMonthly income at retirement (#215)There’s more guesswork involved in retirement planning than we’d like to admit. If you’ve ever gone through the retirement planning process with a financial advisor, you know what I mean. To calculate how much money you’ll need for retirement, you need to factor in the expected inflation rate as well as the expected growth rate of your investments. If you had the ability to know those things with any degree of certainty, you wouldn’t need to do any retirement planning because you’d be psychic.  One of the most crucial guesses you have to make...2020-08-311h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapDIY diversification (#214)What is diversification? Should you care about it? If you do care about it, how do you do it? In this week’s episode of The Fat Wallet Show, we spend some time at the intersection between risk and diversification. We help you think through the role of cash in a portfolio and once again reject the idea that your portfolio should start de-risking in your fifties. Coronavirus or no, modern humans live for a long time. Very few people can afford a multi-decade low-growth portfolio. We spend a little more time than usual on inflation risk. In...2020-08-2458 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapHow to compare investment products (#213)Not all investment products are created equal. This week, listener JP was struggling to understand why his RA was performing so poorly while his tax-free account was making money. The answer is important for everyone who holds more than one investment product.  This week we help you (and JP) work out what exactly you should be looking at to ensure you’re comparing apples with apples. We discuss the role of Regulation 28 in the performance of retirement products, how different asset classes behave, the role of active managers and what the rand/dollar exchange rate has to do...2020-08-171h 02The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapHow to invest BIG money (#212)Those of us slowly building a portfolio every month accept our investments will be determined by our overall strategy. This strategy would include our ultimate financial goal, plans around asset allocation, diversification, tax planning and future drawdown management. We understand we have to consider these variables throughout our portfolio, including our retirement products. New money coming in goes towards old strategies. It’s boring, but effective. Those who just came into a large amount of money are subjected to a terror to which the rest of us are immune. Where is this money supposed to go? The bi...2020-08-1056 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapHelp me help my parents! (#211)The financial services industry has done nobody any favours. Not only were many of our parents sold retirement products with exorbitant fees, they are also offered the same awful choices now they’ve reached retirement age. They have learned the hard way you can spend your life doing everything right and still lose because of bad products with high fees. This week we received five different questions from listeners who are trying to help their parents navigate the terrifying world of retirement money. For many of us, this is the biggest financial decision we would ever have to...2020-08-031h 05The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapWorkplace pensions vs RAs (#210)You may not be very happy with your workplace pension fund. In this week’s episode, we think through some of the things you can do to remedy that situation. Pension funds, like all other retirement products, have to be Regulation 28-compliant. That means you don’t have much control over what’s inside. However, you can control your contributions and the fee you’re willing to pay. You can also insert yourself into how your workplace pension is managed by becoming a pension fund trustee.  You can find Gerrie’s article on maintenance we mention at the top of...2020-07-271h 05The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapMedics tribute show (#209)There seems to be a battle for dominance raging between medical professionals and engineers on this show. This week we happened to receive emails from four healthcare professionals. Considering what’s happening in our hospitals at the moment, we decided to dedicate this week’s show to these heroes. Subscribe to our RSS feed here. Subscribe or rate us in iTunes. Win of the week: Busi I am a doctor who has worked in both the public and private sectors. I have a stockbroking account and always wondered what these random amounts of money...2020-07-201h 00The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe two-stage FIRE approach (#208)If you went into formal employment straight out of university or school, odds are you have some sort of pension fund or retirement annuity. You may since have realised the idea of working until you’re 65 is entirely optional. If you’ve already allocated a large part of your income towards your retirement, you need to find a way to incorporate that money into your early retirement strategy.  Our friend Kris has been giving some thought to this process. Your challenge lies in balancing two investments. Your discretionary investments should see you through to the age where you c...2020-07-1355 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapInvesting in China (#207)If you listened to this episode on a single ETF strategy, you know my investment philosophy. This simple approach to investing saves me a lot of drama. When a new product comes to the market, I ask myself if it fits with my original philosophy. If it doesn’t, I can satisfy my curiosity about the product without touching my investments. This is a good way to live.  The new China ETF from Satrix disturbed my Zen approach. If my philosophy is to invest in all the companies in the world according to their market capitalisation, China sho...2020-07-061h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapSpend money to save money (#206)You can find the Satrix webinar we mention at the top of the show here. Isn’t it odd how few money conversations centre around mundane financial choices? Surely our net worth is a reflection of the small financial decisions we make every day. A rather typical experience with a contractor has me questioning my decision-making this week. Do I need to think differently about the intersection between price and quality? I asked your help and got some really excellent ideas. Simon and I think through many of them in this week’s episode of The Fat Wall...2020-06-2957 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe perfect money month (#205)A while back my smart and handsome co-host Simon Brown did a presentation about the perfect trade. Even though I don’t trade myself, I found the presentation inspiring. As we often advocate, when it comes to this money business it’s best to focus only on what you can control. A conversation with Cash Club writer Njabulo Nsibande made me realise we can apply the idea of a perfect trade to our investments too. As Simon and I flesh out that idea in this podcast, we realise you can aim for a perfect month in your own...2020-06-221h 05The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapOffshore ETFs and the rand (#204)When you buy a locally-listed ETF based in another currency, two transactions happen in the background. First, your rands are converted to the other currency. The new currency is then used to buy the ETF units. Buying an ETF based in a different currency is therefore an easy way to introduce currency diversification into your portfolio.  In this episode we help you understand the impact of these two transactions on your portfolio when there’s currency movement. If, for example, you bought a dollar-based ETF and the rand weakens against the dollar, do you have more money or...2020-06-151h 06The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapPension fund withdrawals (#203)Under normal circumstances we would strongly caution against withdrawing from your pension fund. The reason is quite simple: the tax will make your eyes water. One decision can slash your hard-earned net worth by hundreds of thousands of rands. That’s not even factoring for opportunity cost. However, since we’re currently living through the apocalypse, we might have to soften our stance on this. Some members of the financial services industry are lobbying for access to pension funds during this crisis. If you’re no longer able to earn an income, you might have to make a smar...2020-06-081h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapBrushing up your strategy (#202)Many of you come to us fresh as daisies. You start listening in anticipation of your first pay cheque. A clean slate means you can set your financial situation up in a way that makes sense to you at the outset. Those of us who aren’t so lucky have to turn our financial patchwork into a structure of some integrity. This episode is about that. Inspired by 39-year-old Dunga, we help you figure out what might be missing from the financial setup you already have. We cover everything from debt as a risk to protecting your as...2020-06-011h 06The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapFIRE for single-income households (#201)Financial planning isn’t just for people who earn money. In single-income households, it’s the responsibility of everyone in the household to work towards financial goals. It’s also everyone’s responsibility to protect those not earning an income. Naturally, dread disease and disability cover and life insurance are critical in these situations. A question from Denzil had us considering the benefits of taking out a retirement annuity in the name of the non-working partner. It means the growth of the investment is tax-free, even though there’s no short-term tax benefit. It also means drawdown in retirem...2020-05-2558 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap200 Fat Wallets! (#200)As we mentioned at the top of the show, today’s episode was made possible by a new financial education initiative by Momentum-Metropolitan. You can play the FinEazy game here and register for the story-driven educational programme called FunDza here.  This is the 200th time Simon Chuckles Brown and I sit down to record a Fat Wallet Show (more or less). Every episode is a privilege because every episode is made possible by your engagement and contributions. We are eternally grateful for the support, encouragement and enthusiasm you have for this work.  As of 13 May 2020, you...2020-05-181h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapShould I take profit? (#199)After two brutal years of obsessive debt repayments and a year of hard saving I finally made my first investment in March 2014. Six years of watching paint dry was followed, finally, by a stock market crash so brutal I’m still suffering a nosebleed. In my short investment career I’ve experienced every market condition but growth. As a result of this less-than-illustrious track record, it’s probably not surprising that the growth I’m currently seeing in my portfolio is freaking me out completely. My CoreShares S&P500 ETF is 70% up and I don’t know what to do...2020-05-1143 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapAdjusting financial goals (#198)We’ve all had a few weeks to come to terms with Reality: Version 2020. Those of us who had our sights set on financial independence have watched our independence day creep a few years further down the line.  The uncertainty we are currently facing has surely also made converts of those who didn’t know financial independence was something worth striving for. Imagine how differently you would have approached this crisis if you knew you could continue to support yourself if you lost your day job.  Life is happening to us in shouty capital letters at the...2020-05-041h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapCOVID bonds (#197)With the markets in a flat spin, even the bond market is looking a bit peaky. How can it be when bonds are supposed to give us stability and predictable income? It turns out not all bonds are created equal. In this week’s episode we revisit how bonds work and what they’re supposed to do in your portfolio.  If you are as intrigued by retail bonds as I am, you can buy some here. Subscribe to our RSS feed here. Subscribe or rate us in iTunes. Win of the week: Tee I am h...2020-04-271h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapLockdown money crisis (#196)It’s going to take more than a good plan and discipline to cope with the financial impact of this lockdown. Some of us are lucky to retain all or some of our income, but for many of us this period is a financial catastrophe. There is no good news, no upside, no silver lining. We are in crisis mode and the goal is survival.  In this week’s episode we think through some lesser-of-two-evils scenarios. Should you take a loan repayment holiday? Should you sell an investment or take on debt? Should you borrow money from the b...2020-04-201h 00The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe investment lockdown challenge (#195)Isn’t it fascinating how quickly we adapt? When the market first started its epic nose dive, we were all ready to jump with it. However, over the past month or so we’ve become so accustomed to a crisis environment that we can almost forget about our investment accounts. The last lockdown challenge was initially scheduled for the last week of lockdown. The lockdown extension happened after I recorded the podcast. To be honest, I don’t have the emotional energy to engage with the extension at the moment. As a result, we’re looking at our inve...2020-04-1334 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe medical aid lockdown challenge (#194)Last week we challenged you to take a closer look at your insurance cover. The challenge was an eye-opener for me. I wrote an article about it here. This week it’s time to look at your medical aid. Since many of our incomes are affected by the lockdown, you might be looking at a cheaper medical aid plan. You might be wondering if the one you have is any good. Perhaps a global health crisis finally scared you into getting medical aid if you don’t already have one.  The trouble with making choices about...2020-04-061h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe first lockdown money challenge (#193)It’s a nutty time to be alive, isn’t it? A market crash is bad enough. Adding a national lockdown to the mix is bound to provoke some anxiety. Our strategy in this time is not dissimilar from our usual strategy: focus on what you can control.  To that end, our podcast this week is the first of three money challenges. We are starting with wills and estates and then moving on to short-term and long-term insurance. We all know what a drag it is to wade through the fine print of these documents when there are m...2020-03-301h 12The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapCrash questions (#192)Many of us are witnessing a stock market crash for the first time. Like most of you, I’m experiencing a heady mix of excitement and terror. I’m so glad watching my portfolio no longer feels like watching paint dry. Instead, it feels like being dropped off a very high building. It’s not great, but at least it’s not boring. This week we address nothing but crash questions. Drawing on some of the concerns of The Fat Wallet Community Group, we provide some guidance to get you through this process with your net worth protecte...2020-03-2356 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapYour first tax-free investment (#191)While the rest of the world is getting in supermarket fights over toilet paper, life at Just One Lap carries on. Lesego, who is only 24, is ready to start their investment journey. This week we hold their hand through their first tax-free purchase. We explain what tax-free accounts are, what ETFs are and why we like to go for a diverse, global investment.  If the investment world is new to you, you don’t want to miss this episode. The video below is a deep-dive into tax-free investments, presented by Chuckles himself.  If you’...2020-03-161h 05The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe end of the world (#190)We’re not prone to panic, but at this point staying calm requires a level of stoicism we haven’t quite mastered. You may have forgotten this in the diseased fog of the Coronavirus, but a mere two months ago it seemed as though the US was going to war with Iran.  Part of what makes it so hard to keep calm is that the rest of the world is in a flat panic. When even the Federal Reserve starts behaving erratically, you may be forgiven for wanting to turn your ETFs into Kruger Rands*.  In thi...2020-03-091h 02The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapPreservation funds and FIRE (#189)Boy, did AJ open a can of worms this week! We fall down a preservation fund rabbit hole that’s perhaps long overdue. Here are some of the key things you should know.  When you leave a company’s pension or provident fund because you leave the company, you have three options when transferring those funds: You can move it to your new company’s pension or provident fund. You can buy a retirement annuity (RA) in your private capacity. You can put that money into a pension preservation or provident preservation fund. Both pension and pro...2020-03-0255 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThings you should know about the end of the tax year (#188)This time of year is like Christmas for money nerds (or maybe it’s just me). Everyone’s tax situation is unique and there are so many variables to tweak. It’s truly magical.  In this episode, we take you through some tax basics. We explain why the end of the tax year is significant, even if you don’t file a provisional return. We help you work out why tax-free savings are so important and discuss some of the similarities between tax-free investment products and retirement products like annuities and pension funds.  If you don’t find...2020-02-241h 07The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapWhere budgets fail (#187)Conventional wisdom has it that a budget is at the heart of any successful financial strategy. My wisdom has it that a budget is an excellent tool for self-deception. Nobody was better than drawing up a theoretical map of how money should be spent than me not spending money that way. In this episode we discuss where budgets fall short. We each share our own approaches to budgeting and offer some more useful alternatives. Subscribe to our RSS feed here. Subscribe or rate us in iTunes. Win of the week: Ken from the Fat Wallet C...2020-02-171h 06The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapUnderstanding returns (#186)“Return” is one of those words that Finances Bros simply love to throw around. Good luck trying to have a conversation about investments without hearing all about it. This week, we discuss why return is something you can basically forget about, if your Finance Bro will let you.  We explain what the word “return” could mean, depending on the circumstances. We help you figure out how to know whether a return is good or bad. This is important, because a positive return can be a bad return. It’s one of those, “how long is a piece of string” th...2020-02-101h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapFinancial crisis management (#185)Life has this dreadful habit of happening. Almost always these goings on require money to solve. The financial foundation we advocate is designed to help you cope with financial crises when they happen. When you have no debt, sufficient short-term insurance, an emergency fund, medical aid and dread and disability cover, you have some tools in your time of need. Unfortunately life doesn’t sit around waiting for us to have our ducks in a row before causing drama. Sometimes you have to do the best with what you’ve got. In this episode we offer some idea...2020-02-031h 02The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapHow to spot a bad financial product (#184)The financial world is filled with dreadful products. Avoiding them all is a tempting strategy, but not feasible for most people. In our first full episode of the year, Simon and I dedicate some time to help you spot a bad product. Below is a checklist of red flags you should watch out for before investing in these products/ Debt Interest Balloon payments Revolving loans Fees Savings TFSA in cash Disclosure - 13% compound vs simple Fees Products that are tied to other products Insurance and medical aid Requirements Complexity ...2020-01-271h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe fee revolution (#183)The world changed for the better this week. You may have missed it, but OUTvest launched a retirement annuity (RA) product whose fees will hopefully change the way we think about fees forever. With Simon recovering from a vicious flu, this week’s episode sees OUTvest head Grant Locke explain his revolutionary new product. We return to our regular programming next week, unless Simon succumbs.2020-01-2044 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapCash in a TFSA (#182)Most of the time I hate it when people say “the exception to prove the rule”. It doesn’t make any sense. Except sometimes it does. When it comes to tax-free investing, you want to be in equity. It’s because you save tax in three places: dividends, capital gains and income. However, not everybody should be in equity. People who will need the money in less than five years should really be in cash. People who are already living from their savings would also probably not benefit from an equity investment.  This week, Lorian’s 80-year-old dad is our...2020-01-1309 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapFinancially savvy kids (#181)If it’s parenting advice you’re after, you’ve come to the wrong place. The reason why we have quiet places to record is precisely because we don’t have kids. However, we know a thing or two about the financial system. This week we help soon-to-be dad Daniel to figure out where he can save for his future baby.  Daniel We’re expecting our first in June 2020. I want to, as you so many times suggested on the show, take out a TFSA for the boss baby. Thing is, I don’t trust the k...2020-01-0616 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapWhen should rands become dollars? (#180)Timing is everything in investing. If you could get the timing right on every single investment, you’d be rich before anyone else. What we want, in theory, is to put the money in when it costs the least and take it out when it costs the most. That’s it, really.  Unfortunately it’s impossible to know for sure when that is. We guess, we try. Sometimes we get lucky, but most of the time we aim for the ballpark. In this episode, we help Nicole work out when is a good time to take her money o...2019-12-3011 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapTalking to family about money (#179)Why is it so hard to talk to family about money? Shouldn’t the people who love and care about us most be most open to what we have to say? At our live event in Cape Town, someone wanted to know how they can convince their family members to think like them about money. We said it’s impossible, but Ivan disagrees. If this is a problem you’ve been longing to solve, you don’t want to miss this episode. Ivan I listen to the Dave Ramsey Show podcast.   On one of the sho...2019-12-2310 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapEmigration preparation (#178)If you know you'll be leaving the country for good in the next few years, should you invest your money or keep everything in cash? In the first of five mini Fat Wallet episodes, we help Karlien think through some options. Karlien Your show gets me excited to invest, but I'm at a weird place right now.  I'm getting married next year and then we want to immigrate to the Netherlands because I'm a Dutch citizen. We aren't very likely to return to SA permanently. I have no debt and I'm currently saving fo...2019-12-1613 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapEnd of year money reflections (#177)The end of the year is a good time to take stock of how things went financially. At the beginning of 2018, Simon and I discussed our money resolutions for the year. At the end of last year, we revisited some of our financial assumptions.  To wrap up our 2019 Fat Wallet year, we once again discuss our personal finances and which assumptions we’ve come to challenge throughout the year. For me, learning to relax is always a challenge. I spent a lot of money on a holiday and it took me a while to realise that my fin...2019-12-091h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapWhat's the deal with tax brackets? (#176)For the longest time I thought a progressive tax system referred to how we spend our tax money. Poor, naive me. It turns out that a progressive tax system means there’s not one tax rate. How much tax you pay depends on how much money you make. Your tax rate gets progressively higher as you earn more income. In a way, you pay less tax on the money you make first.  The table below shows how your income is taxed. Unless you’re in the lowest tax bracket, you’ll notice a rand amount before the percent...2019-12-021h 01The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapMy first investment (#175)Whenever I hear from someone about to make their first investment (or take their first yoga class), I get a pang of nostalgia. I’ll never forget my first investment — the thrill, the terror, the sense of achievement, the self-rewarded grown-up badge.  Fear was definitely the biggest part of it. True to form, I made it as hard as possible on myself by doing a single lump-sum investment. It was the biggest amount of money I’d ever had. Sending it into the unknown was nerve-wracking. When I finally made my first investment, an RMB Top 40 product via etf...2019-11-251h 06The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapStock market risk (#174)This week’s show is the second of the risk-series, sponsored by the Index and Structured Solutions team at Absa CIB. In the first episode we spoke about financial risks that aren’t investment-specific. This time, we talk about risks specifically related to the stock market and your portfolio.  When it comes to investing, we’re most concerned about losing money. In share investments, losing money generally means selling a share at a lower price than you paid for it. However, it’s also important to remember that an investment that goes neither up nor down over a long pe...2019-11-181h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapIs my portfolio over-exposed? (#173)What are the implications of buying two ETFs that have similar holdings? Raesetsja is trying to figure out if they should add MSCI World to a portfolio of S&P500 holdings. In this week’s episode, we show you how to figure out what doubling up would mean for your portfolio using local Satrix ETFs as an example. Remember, you can find the minimum disclosure documents (MDDs) on each issuer’s website, or find everything in one place on the etfSA.co.za website. Subscribe to our RSS feed here. Subscribe or rate us in iTunes. Rae...2019-11-111h 07The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapLive from Cape Town (#172)This is our very first live recording in Cape Town, and what a pleasure it was. Our conversations with you change the way we think about our money. Also, seeing people laugh at your stupid jokes instead of hoping to goodness that someone finds you funny is a wonderful ego boost.  This week we help Antony figure out if it’s time for his family to self-insure their medical aid. While the consensus seems to be that it’s not worth the risk, I enjoy playing Devil’s Advocate. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I...2019-11-0459 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapYour questions - part two (#171)In this second instalment of my Holiday Show Load, we are not nearly so clever. We tried to push through as many questions as we could, but you know how chatty we get! This is the Double Jenny episode, which delights me no end. We discussed some of the things Jenny the First can do to choose the right ETF for her. If you find yourself in a similar position, you can find some more tips on making this choice by reading the below articles:  Comparing ETFs: Costs Comparing ETFs: Asset classes 2019-10-2848 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapYour questions - part one (#170)In honour of my long-awaited holiday, we spent two shows doing nothing but answering questions. This is the first.  Don’t forget we’ll be at the JSE in Cape Town for a live recording of The Fat Wallet Show on 31 October.  Win of the week: Jonathan The fees are a little confusing, because the quote has three different fee tables, all represented in a slightly different way. Depending on who you are, this is either super transparent, or designed to confuse - or both.  I learned three things.  One, Syg...2019-10-2139 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapWhich investment is most important? (#169)If you’re a regular listener, you already know your emergency fund is the most important thing in your financial life. It’s boring, yes, but crucial. You should protect the assets you have with insurance. For as long as you’re earning an income, you are your most important asset, so dread disease and disability cover is a big deal.  Once those two elements are in place, where you go next becomes more complicated. We think everyone should have tax-free investment account. If you’re a salary-earning tax-payer, taking advantage of the tax breaks offered in retiremen...2019-10-141h 05The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapETF unit pricing (#168)This week, Ben inspires us to delve into how ETF units are priced. A recent presentation of our favourite five concepts made me realise how far removed share prices are from the companies whose shares we buy. After the initial public offering (IPO), what happens to the share price can be entirely unrelated to the business.  When we talk about how ETF units are priced, we refer to the net asset value (NAV) or the “fair price” of the ETF. However, NAV in ETFs have nothing to do with the NAV of the companies represented in the ETF...2019-10-071h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapRights and recourse (#167)Earlier this week we introduced ourselves to the education department at the financial sector conduct authority (FSCA). They recommended we spend some time on what you can do when you feel like you’ve been wronged financially. In this episode we discuss what rights you have on your financial journey. We also offer some ideas of where to go if you need to report shenanigans.  We help you find the answer throughout your financial journey: Debt  If you didn’t take on the debt If you feel like you have been treated unfairly If you’ve been han...2019-09-301h 04JSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon BrownWhat's the NAV? (348)Simon Shares The Power Hour from last week by Nerina Visser on ETF fees is awesome and online. What's the net asset value? Net asset value (NAV) is from the balance sheet and is asset less liabilities. The break up value of the company. A share will typically trade above this value as we're buying future profits, not break up value. Tangible NAV (TNAV) is better as this excludes things such as goodwill, so is a real number of actual assets. Goodwill is when you buy a business and pay more than the NAV for the...2019-04-1817 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWhat's the NAV? (348)Simon Shares The Power Hour from last week by Nerina Visser on ETF fees is awesome and online. What's the net asset value? Net asset value (NAV) is from the balance sheet and is asset less liabilities. The break up value of the company. A share will typically trade above this value as we're buying future profits, not break up value. Tangible NAV (TNAV) is better as this excludes things such as goodwill, so is a real number of actual assets. Goodwill is when you buy a business and pay more than the NAV for the...2019-04-1817 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#135: The right time to buy and sellThis community is all about not leaving money on the table. Buying and selling shares at the right time can have a long-term impact on the performance of your portfolio. This week we discuss two questions relating to timing buying and selling shares and ETFs. Win of the week: Mukhtaar, for solving the tax on REIT issue. In the latest podcast there was a question whether listed property distributions are treated as interest income or taxed as normal income. I can confirm that it is taxed as normal income and the interest exemption...2019-02-1854 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#134: Should I know how to trade?I’m often curious about the finances of people who want to take on some alternative way of making money in financial markets - be it trading or Bitcoin. More often than not, people who are convinced that a single asset or event will solve all their problems don’t yet have solid a financial foundation. Similarly, people who do have a strong handle on their finances tend to favour simplicity, as this interview with Patrick McKay illustrates. Just One Lap had its origins as a trading education platform. Even so, trading is not something we encourage most...2019-02-111h 00The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#133: Starting overSince talking about money is my day job, it’s easy to assume that I have no financial anxieties. That’s not the case. Money speaks to such a primal part of our humanity. I think everyone is susceptible to a degree of fear around their ability to meet the basic needs of themselves and their families. Making big lifestyle changes always results in massive financial anxiety for me. Buying a house  - a lifestyle decision whose financial implications I always distrusted - had me on tenterhooks. Instead of throwing myself into the planning, I resorted to a sma...2019-02-041h 01JSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon Brown#336: End of year portfolio reviewThis JSE Direct is proudly brought to you by IG, the specialists in CFD trading and a registered financial services provider. Simon Shares Somebody capitulated on Metrofile* (JSE code: MFL) this morning. The stocks hit 160c, then 239c and is now 1c up at 220c and I picked up a few on a DY of over 10%. Over R4million has traded so far, so decent volume for this stock. SENS just out is that Sabvest (JSE codes: SBV & SVN) picked up just under half of the volume at 200c - 235c. They already own just over 10...2018-12-1319 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon Brown#336: End of year portfolio reviewThis JSE Direct is proudly brought to you by IG, the specialists in CFD trading and a registered financial services provider. Simon Shares Somebody capitulated on Metrofile* (JSE code: MFL) this morning. The stocks hit 160c, then 239c and is now 1c up at 220c and I picked up a few on a DY of over 10%. Over R4million has traded so far, so decent volume for this stock. SENS just out is that Sabvest (JSE codes: SBV & SVN) picked up just under half of the volume at 200c - 235c. They already own just over 10...2018-12-1319 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#110: Should I get married? Subscribe to our RSS feed here. Subscribe or rate us in iTunes.   Marriage is a long-term commitment to build a life with someone else (among other things). A wedding is an expensive party. This week Dr. Woofington Von Barkshire wants to know if we think it’s a good idea to spend money on an expensive wedding when you have debt and not very much money. We don’t. I have to buy a ring of the engagement type due to the expectations of my 6yr girlfriend (the time we have been together, not her age). I don...2018-07-2356 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#95: The financial literacy testIf you secretly hate us but haven’t been able to find a different source of financial information, I have some great news! I found a Freakonomics Radio episode that summed up exactly the principles we champion on this show. In this episode, Simon and I take the financial literacy survey. It’s only three questions, but understanding their answers will enable you to make great financial decisions. If this sounds vaguely familiar, you might be thinking of this podcast we did last year. Here are the questions: Suppose you have R100 in a savi...2018-04-091h 05JSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon Brown#95: The financial literacy testIf you secretly hate us but haven’t been able to find a different source of financial information, I have some great news! I found a Freakonomics Radio episode that summed up exactly the principles we champion on this show. In this episode, Simon and I take the financial literacy survey. It’s only three questions, but understanding their answers will enable you to make great financial decisions. If this sounds vaguely familiar, you might be thinking of this podcast we did last year. Here are the questions: Suppose you have R100 in a savi...2018-04-091h 05WorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon Brown#95: The financial literacy testIf you secretly hate us but haven’t been able to find a different source of financial information, I have some great news! I found a Freakonomics Radio episode that summed up exactly the principles we champion on this show. In this episode, Simon and I take the financial literacy survey. It’s only three questions, but understanding their answers will enable you to make great financial decisions. If this sounds vaguely familiar, you might be thinking of this podcast we did last year. Here are the questions: Suppose you have R100 in a savi...2018-04-091h 05The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#87: CGT hacking failedFor a moment there I got excited. I blame Peter Hood, who dangled the capital gains avoidance carrot dangerously close. Peter’s theory is elegant: Use your capital gains allowance each year to offload your cheap ETF units at a profit and then buy them back at a higher price. Your cost per unit goes up over time, allowing you to pay less capital gains tax when you eventually cash in for real. Unfortunately, traders ruin it for everyone. Regular (read, annual or more) transactions in your trading account lands your squarely in the investing-for-income ca...2018-02-1238 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#85: Can one ETF rule them all?Did Dale Towert ruin our lives, our business and possibly the ETF industry? Turns out Dale is a powerful guy. He sent a link to the “Investing Demystified” video series by Lars Kroijer and immediately changed the way I think about ETFs. In the videos, Kroijer makes an argument for a single world-wide ETF combined with bonds as a complete investment strategy. Over the years my ETFs expectations changed. Instead of hoping for market return, as it says on the sticker, I’ve been trying to use my ETFs to outperform the market. In douche parlance, it’s called...2018-01-2954 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#64: Diversification by weightingRisk factors are a big consideration when I make investment decisions. Generally, I consider sectors, regions, currency and asset allocation when deciding between ETFs. I’m by no means claiming these are the only risk factors, but these are the ones I understand. Considering I only invest once a year, it’s kind of nuts how much time I spend thinking about this. Last week I wrote an ETF blog about how weightings can affect the performance of ETFs that track more or less the same companies. In the local market, the Satrix 40, the CoreShares Equal Weighted 40 and...2017-09-1156 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#60: ETF Q&AIt’s our 60th show! At the time of recording we were also only a few downloads shy of the 70 000 download mark. What a time to be alive! We are so grateful for your support. This week we received a bunch of related questions about my favourite topic - ETFs. We discuss: TER: How it’s calculated and what it means for your investment. I also wrote an article about it here. Spread: The cost that’s not a cost. The difference between ETFs and ETNs. How to put together an ETF portfolio. How to choose betwee...2017-08-1458 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#51: Offshore investing with Candice PaineWe have long been huge fans of Candice Paine. If you are one of many who asked us about offshore investing, you’re about to become one of her fans too. In this illuminating interview, Candice explains all the different ways to take your money offshore. I was expecting a very complicated process, but basically you can move your money into different currencies and regions from the comfort of your own bank. However, if you are determined to move money into a different country altogether, we talk about that too. By far the scariest part of...2017-06-051h 03The Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#49: Offshore ETFs and currency movesBack in the bad old cabinet reshuffle days, I made some money trading my tax-free savings account. In that account, I was invested in the DBXWD and CSP500. The cabinet reshuffle led to a nauseating drop in the rand. The currency drop, in turn, resulted in an elating increase in the value of my dollar-denominated investments. It was an emotionally confusing but financially lucrative time. I’d been down this road before. Considering how little my investments have done for me, seeing some life in my offshore investments is basically the only thing giving me hope. This ti...2017-05-2240 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#48: Optimal diversification strategyAside from low cost and simplicity, ETFs are appealing because diversification is built in. When you invest in the 40 biggest South African companies, you invest in different sectors and different regions. You even get a degree of asset diversification in the form of property stocks. Last week, Stealthy Wealth asked me about my diversification strategy in this interview. Because I’m an ETF investor with a very long investment horizon, diversification is not high on my list of priorities. The question did make me wonder how I will diversify once I approach retirement. When I th...2017-05-1547 minJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon Brown#253: Is Buffett still value?Simon Shares Metrofile* (JSE code: MFL) results were modest but the dividend was up 18% at 13c and core operations also increased 18%. You can now buy shares in the South African Reserve Bank! But should you? Sea Harvest (JSE code: SHG) will be listing later this month. I will apply for allocation. Tongaat* (JSE code: TON) is coming under some selling pressure down to around R123.50. Upcoming events JSE Power Hour: Finding that perfect share JSE Power Hour: Anthony Clark 2017 small cap picks * I hold ungeared positions. Is Buffett a value investor? @JustOneLap @SimonPB...2017-03-0922 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon Brown#253: Is Buffett still value?Simon Shares Metrofile* (JSE code: MFL) results were modest but the dividend was up 18% at 13c and core operations also increased 18%. You can now buy shares in the South African Reserve Bank! But should you? Sea Harvest (JSE code: SHG) will be listing later this month. I will apply for allocation. Tongaat* (JSE code: TON) is coming under some selling pressure down to around R123.50. Upcoming events JSE Power Hour: Finding that perfect share JSE Power Hour: Anthony Clark 2017 small cap picks * I hold ungeared positions. Is Buffett a value investor? @JustOneLap @SimonPB...2017-03-0922 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#36: Relationships and moneyIn general, people don’t know how to talk about money. Add feelings and relationships to the mix and you have a lot of room for awkwardness. Your future financial security will be heavily influenced by the financial behaviour of your partner. You owe it to yourself to ensure that you know exactly what you’re in for. When I was younger I got heavily indebted. This was bad. I did, however, learn a number of important life lessons from that experience. One unexpected upside is that debt forced me to talk about money to my partner. Our...2017-02-2051 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#33: Money dilemmasSometimes a lot of deliberation about money ends in an either, or situation. This week is all about those dilemmas. Firstly, we think about monetising our podcast. It seems only logical that a podcast about money should make some money. Do we find a sponsor for the podcast or rely on our listeners for donations? Our listeners have dilemmas about who to trust with their money, whether to buy the Preftrax ETF, how much should be invested offshore and how to handle different investment horizons. We manage to get around to all of this and to pontificate...2017-01-3051 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#32: Living off your savingsAssuming your life went well and you made good decisions, you are now ready to retire. In addition to old-fashioned retirement products, you have a personal investment portfolio, a tax-free account filled to the brim with ETFs you love and some cash. Now what? Selling shares for income can’t be a pleasant experience - especially when earning an income is no longer an option. You are eating into wealth accumulated over a lifetime. It’s easy to forget that this is what all that wealth accumulation was all about. In this episode of The Fat...2017-01-2356 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#31: Kids, death and taxesWe were thrilled to discover that our podcast has been downloaded 18 000 times since we kicked off in May last year. Excuse me a minute while I do a spastic dance where nobody can see me… Okay, back to business. Kids, death and taxes - three things Simon and I try to avoid at all times. This week we answer two listener questions about investing for children. Nolan hopes to leave his kids properties, but wants to avoid estate duties. Is this even possible? Chantelle opened an Investec tax-free account for her two-year-old, but wa...2017-01-1637 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#27: Short-term savingsI bought my Huyndai Atos at a time when I seriously couldn’t afford to buy a new car. Between 0km and about 50 000km I only serviced it once, because it was as young and invincible as I was at 24. I still find it miraculous that we both managed to survive that time of my life relatively unscathed. It pains me to say that perhaps the end might be looming for my dear Atos. I can remove the key from the ignition while the car is running and nothing happens. I’m told this is not normal. Than...2016-11-2832 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#23: The time travel episode (and windfalls)You thought we were just a podcast, but we also time travel. With Simon on holiday, we pre-recorded this episode two weeks ago, when #twentiestaughtmethat was trending on Twitter. I learned my biggest financial lessons in my twenties. Reading through the tweets, I realised that that’s true for many people. I also realised how lucky I was to learn those lessons in my twenties. Of course it would have been better not to fall down a debt hole like a dystopian Alice in Wonderland, but at least I managed to claw my way out while I st...2016-10-3124 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#22: Retirement and taxI recently realised, to my horror, that pension fund and retirement annuity providers are winning at consumer education. With my first job came an onslaught of pension fund providers vying to communicate with my broke ass. I didn’t know how to budget, how to manage my debt, how to navigate myself out of a brown paper bag, but did I know who to call about retirement. Unfortunately, in the process of educating consumers to sell retirement annuities, providers fail to connect retirement savings with other aspects of financial life. The tax implications can be especially worrisome. Un...2016-10-2438 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#21: Can debt be good?Erik Thiart sent a question that I’ve subconsciously been avoiding on this podcast. He wanted to know what the deal is with my debt story. I talk about paying back my debt often, but I’ve never really gone into how I got into debt in the first place. If I’m perfectly honest, it’s because it serves as a reminder of what a total moron I can be. It makes me look bad and I don’t want people to know about it. This week I come clean. I explain how I got to owing R100...2016-10-1736 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#19: Warranty worryI’m a big believer in having an emergency fund that will cover my expenses for at least three months. I don’t want too much cash sitting around doing nothing, but I also want to avoid cashing out investments to cover emergencies. My emergency fund creates an interesting dynamic in my personal finances. Because I have cash available, I think differently about warranties and insurance products. My 2008 Huyndai Atos, for example, is currently insured for R25 000. I have that amount available in cash. At what point does it become uneconomical to pay insurance? If something happens to m...2016-10-0329 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#18: How to be wrong, or contract vs prepaidThis podcast forces me to do an annoying amount of personal growth. This week I had to work out what I disliked more: being wrong or being irrational. My early 20s was a haze of red wine and shopping on credit. In three short years I managed to rack up debt ten times my monthly income. If you’ve ever had debt you couldn’t honour, you know how terrifying that is. When I finally worked up the courage to tackle my debt, I developed a strong aversion to big corporations taking my money. Cancelling my c...2016-09-2638 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#17: Warning! We say "ethics"WARNING: This episode contains some insipid moralising. Vomiting might ensue. Please allow me a moment to be a little philosophical. It’s my birthday week. This can be your gift to me. Last week I featured the NewFunds NewSA ETF. It’s an ETF that invests in companies based on their empowerment ratings. As our bestie Nerina Visser points out in the article, the ETF has a few glitches. It’s over exposed to the local market, because locally-listed international companies aren’t required to be BBBEE compliant. The weighting methodology leads to problematic exposures. All things consider...2016-09-1938 minJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon Brown#229: Role of a Stock Broker in your investment journeyRole of a Stock Broker in your investment journey Simon Shares More finance minister concerns and more rand weakness. The bigger picture is you have to have a bigger picture investment view otherwise events like this will hurt. In the last of this three part series if you had R300, which ETF would you buy? We ask Warren Ingram and Craig Gradidge for their view. Trading Master Class, an index trading system is online and follow up in on Monday at 1pm. Tonight in Durban we have a JSE Power Hour - 9.97562 Possible Pitfalls in Investment...2016-08-2550 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon Brown#229: Role of a Stock Broker in your investment journeyRole of a Stock Broker in your investment journey Simon Shares More finance minister concerns and more rand weakness. The bigger picture is you have to have a bigger picture investment view otherwise events like this will hurt. In the last of this three part series if you had R300, which ETF would you buy? We ask Warren Ingram and Craig Gradidge for their view. Trading Master Class, an index trading system is online and follow up in on Monday at 1pm. Tonight in Durban we have a JSE Power Hour - 9.97562 Possible Pitfalls in Investment...2016-08-2550 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#011: Homeownership is the new brokeGiven our political history, it’s hardly surprising that South Africans take homeownership very seriously. Many young South Africans will be the first homeowners in their family. Like so many financial decisions, homeownership is emotionally charged. However, once you start running the numbers it’s difficult to make a financial case for buying a home. In this episode of The Fat Wallet Show Simon and I open ourselves up to a world of outrage by doing the maths. We are unsurprised to find that owning a home is an exercise that has more to do with the feel...2016-08-0833 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#7: Too cool for retirement annuities?At Just One Lap, we don’t shy away from financial products. If it exists, odds are you can find it in our archives. We do, however, have an Achilles heel. We don’t like talking about retirement annuities. Personally I have no qualms with them. I wasted the first decade of my earning life getting shafted by credit providers and poor decision-making, so I only started contributing to my RA in my 30s. By that time, 10X existed and I could settle comfortably into that delightfully cheap little nest. Simon wasn’t as lucky.   When you try to...2016-07-1123 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#5: Arbitrage is like being BatmanThe more questions I ask about investing, the more questions I have. While talking derivatives last week, Simon mentioned arbitrage. It’s a term smart folks like to use a investment conferences. When they do, I nod and hope people can’t really smell fear. In this episode I find out arbitrage is a lot like being Batman – all you really need is a ton of money and dead parents. I’m only half kidding. When a share is traded on more than one market, price differences creep in. Arbitrage is when you buy the cheaper share on one ma...2016-06-2720 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#3: Churn in ETFsI like to think about investment fees. A man in a clown suit can lure me into a panelled van with a cheap ETF. Over the last week or so, however, I’ve come to realise that an ETF’s price tag is only one part of a much bigger picture. Yes, Big Bad Industry, I realise this is common knowledge to you, but I’m a retail investor, remember? Until now nobody told me. Following the now fabled conversations with Roland Rousseau – the unofficial mascot of The Fat Wallet Show – I’ve been paying much more attention to...2016-06-1333 minThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One LapThe Fat Wallet Show from Just One Lap#1: What's with structured productsWhat's with structured products? Welcome to The Fat Wallet Show! It’s our maiden voyage, and we’re happy to have you on board. We’re excited to introduce uncertainty, irreverence and the subtle art of asking questions to your portfolio. Phrases like, “I’m not sure” or, “Let me look that up and get back to you” or, “I don’t know” don’t exist in the financial services industry. If you ever had a financial question you were too embarrassed to ask, you know what we’re talking about. In this business, appearances matter, and nobody wants t...2016-05-2726 minJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSE Direct 209: Hating on unit trustsHating on unit trusts Simon Shares SPIVA results for South Africa are out and they track how many active managers fail to beat the index. Truth is that even over 1 year most do NOT beat the index. In short, buy passive or lose money? The PDF of the report is here. Standard & Poors has downgraded SA's expected GDP for 2016 from 1.6% to 0.8% further cementing the likelihood of a downgrade to junk from the rating agency. African Bank has relaunched, but this is not the one you have shares in. The suspended ABIL sold off good assets and...2016-04-0721 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownJSE Direct 209: Hating on unit trustsHating on unit trusts Simon Shares SPIVA results for South Africa are out and they track how many active managers fail to beat the index. Truth is that even over 1 year most do NOT beat the index. In short, buy passive or lose money? The PDF of the report is here. Standard & Poors has downgraded SA's expected GDP for 2016 from 1.6% to 0.8% further cementing the likelihood of a downgrade to junk from the rating agency. African Bank has relaunched, but this is not the one you have shares in. The suspended ABIL sold off good assets and...2016-04-0721 minJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect 197 – The Predictions Show 2016We’re back! It's 2016, wowzer. This week’s show is our annual predictions show with Marc Ashton, GM at Moneyweb, Keith McLachlan, Small/Midcap fund manager at Alpha Wealth and Simon Brown from JustOneLap. We did our first predictions show in January 2014 and and the second a year later and this is now our third show. Find 2014 here and 2015 here. We promised to revisit our predictions a year later and here we are marking our 2015 predictions and also making our 2016 predictions. Tweet or Facebook us your predictions. ==== Subscriber to our...2016-01-1431 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownJSEDirect 197 – The Predictions Show 2016We’re back! It's 2016, wowzer. This week’s show is our annual predictions show with Marc Ashton, GM at Moneyweb, Keith McLachlan, Small/Midcap fund manager at Alpha Wealth and Simon Brown from JustOneLap. We did our first predictions show in January 2014 and and the second a year later and this is now our third show. Find 2014 here and 2015 here. We promised to revisit our predictions a year later and here we are marking our 2015 predictions and also making our 2016 predictions. Tweet or Facebook us your predictions. ==== Subscriber to our...2016-01-1431 minJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect 172: Stocks to buy and sell and the best TFSADrikus Combrinck  Portfolio Manager CapiCraft Investments Masterdrill  (JSE:MDI) Grindrod (JSE:GND) Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) We Get Mail Helen Which charting software is best for investing? JC  Just watched your JSE power hour on TFSA accounts on JustOneLap. What service provider are you using as I am using XXX securities and I cannot buy DBX just do it through their funds… I want a little more flexibility. Subscriber to our feed here or sign up for email alerts as a new show goes live or subscribe in iTunes. JSE – The JSE is a registered t...2015-06-1821 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownJSEDirect 172: Stocks to buy and sell and the best TFSADrikus Combrinck  Portfolio Manager CapiCraft Investments Masterdrill  (JSE:MDI) Grindrod (JSE:GND) Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) We Get Mail Helen Which charting software is best for investing? JC  Just watched your JSE power hour on TFSA accounts on JustOneLap. What service provider are you using as I am using XXX securities and I cannot buy DBX just do it through their funds… I want a little more flexibility. Subscriber to our feed here or sign up for email alerts as a new show goes live or subscribe in iTunes. JSE – The JSE is a registered t...2015-06-1821 minJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect with Simon BrownJSEDirect 152 – The Predictions ShowWe’re back! After a six month sabbatical JSEDirect is back and running from JustOneLap coming to you every Thursday. We’re making some changes that we’ll detail in the weeks ahead. This week’s show is our annual predictions show with Marc Ashton, GM at Moneyweb, Keith Mclachlan, Small/Midcap fund manager at Alpha Wealth and Simon Brown from JustOneLap. We did our first predictions show in January 2014 and promised to revisit our predictions a year later (find that show here) and here we are marking our 2014 predictions and also making our 2015 predictions. Su...2015-01-2134 minWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownWorldWide Markets with Simon BrownJSEDirect 152 – The Predictions ShowWe’re back! After a six month sabbatical JSEDirect is back and running from JustOneLap coming to you every Thursday. We’re making some changes that we’ll detail in the weeks ahead. This week’s show is our annual predictions show with Marc Ashton, GM at Moneyweb, Keith Mclachlan, Small/Midcap fund manager at Alpha Wealth and Simon Brown from JustOneLap. We did our first predictions show in January 2014 and promised to revisit our predictions a year later (find that show here) and here we are marking our 2014 predictions and also making our 2015 predictions. Su...2015-01-2134 min